God does not exist…
I know there are too many people in the world who would like to debate the existence of God. I am not one of them. I believe it is better to bet that he does exist. Because to believe that he does not exist is not a risk free idea.
In case he does exist..and in case there is re-birth..or I do end up meeting him once I die…the pay off is too damn high being an atheist and there is no upside at all…that is sad.
Here is a small story…again as usual stolen from God’s own creation ..nothing original as usual..
A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about many things. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said, “I don’t believe that God exists.”
“Why do you say that,” asked the customer.
“Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn’t exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can’t imagine a loving God who would allow all these things.”
The customer thought for a moment but didn’t respond. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. Just as he left the barber shop he saw a man in the street with long, string, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkept. The customer turned back and entered the barbershop again and he said to the barber, “You know what? Barbers do not exist.”
“How can you say that,” asked the surprised barber. “I am here, I am a barber and I just worked on you!”
“No!” the customer exclaimed. “Barbers don’t exist because if they did there would be no people with long dirty hair and untrimmed beards like that man outside.”
“Ah, but barbers do exists! What happens is people don’t come to me.”
“Exactly,” affirmed the customer. “That’s the point! God, too, does exist! What happens is people do not go to Him or look for Him. That’s why there’s so much pain and suffering in the world.”
ps: Like all MCP men I also believe that God is white, wears white robes and is a Man. If I meet a black woman who has some physical challenges, I will not recognize her. So believing has to be backed by recognising. I may fail the recognition test. Alas!
Muthu
There is no risk even if you choose to be an atheist. I cannot imagine God being biased towards some one just because he did not believe in God.
The customer’s point that people do not go to God and that’s why there’s so much pain and suffering in the world does not align with what we see around us.
Hard core believers also are not spared of pain and suffering. Accidents, suicides, premature deaths, terminal illness happens in the family of believers too.
If I’m correct, it is Vivekananda who said that we imagine God as a powerful human being because we are human beings. Probably a lion may think God as the most powerful lion! That explains the MCP image of God!
Trust me, if pain and suffering can be avoided by believing God, there would not be any non-believers at all. Then there is a strong incentive to be a believer and we are all driven by incentives.
jagbir
Thank God, I’m an atheist!
Srini
Good one!
But few questions are good to remain as questions, for there might be no answer at all!! I believe in him, but still would stay away from few questions, like the one:
“Can God make a stone, so big and so heavy, which he cannot carry?” 🙂
shinu
Sir
A long old story worth sharing i felt..:)
A VERY INTERESTING CONVERSATION
An Atheist Professor of Philosophy was speaking to his Class on the Problem Science has
with GOD, the ALMIGHTY. He asked one of his New Student to stand and . . .
Professor : You are a Religious, aren’t you, son ?
Student : Yes, sir.
Professor : So, you Believe in GOD ?
Student : Absolutely, sir.
Professor : Is GOD Good ?&n bsp;
Student : Sure.
Professor : Is GOD ALL – POWERFUL ?
Student : Yes.
Professor : My Brother died of Cancer even though he Prayed to GOD to Heal him.
Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill.
But GOD didn’t. How is this GOD good then? Hmm?
(Student was silent )
Professor : You can’t answer, can you ? Let’s start again, Young Fella.
Is GOD Good?
Student : Yes.
Professor : Is Satan good ?
Student : No.
Professor : Where does Satan come fro m ?
Student : From . . . GOD . .. .
Professor : That’s right. Tell me son, is there evil in this World?
Student : Yes.
Professor : ; Evil is everywhere, isn’t it ? And GOD did make everything. Correct?
Student : Yes.
Professor : So who created evil ?
(Student did not answer)
Professor : Is there Sickness? I mmorality? Hatred? Ugliness?
All these terrible things exist in the World, don’t they?
Student : Yes, sir.
Professor : So, who Created them ?
(Student had no answer)
Professor : Science says you have 5 Senses you use to Identify and Observe the World around you..
Tell me, son . . . Have you ever Seen GOD?
Student : No, sir.
Professor : Tell us if you have ever Heard your GOD?
Student : No , sir.
Professor : Have you ever Felt your GOD, Tasted your GOD, Smelt your GOD?
Have you ever had any Sensory Perception of GOD for that matter?
Student : No, sir. I’m afraid I haven’t.
Professor : Yet you still Believe in HIM?
Student : Yes.
Professor : According to Empirical, Testable, Demonstrable Protocol,
Science says your GOD doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son?
Student : Nothing. I only have my Faith.
Professor : Yes,Faith. And that is the Problem Science has.
Student : Professor, is there such a thing as Heat?
Professor : Yes.
Student : And is there such a thing as Cold?
Professor : Yes.
Student : No, sir. There isn’t.
(The Lecture Theatre became very quiet with this turn of events )
Student : Sir, you can have Lots of Heat, even More Heat, Superheat, Mega Heat, White Heat,
a Little Heat or No Heat.
But we don’t have anything called Cold.
We can hit 458 Degrees below Zero which is No Heat, but we can’t go any further after that.
There is no such thing as Cold.
Cold is only a Word we use to describe the Absence of Heat.
We cannot Measure Cold.
Heat is Energy.
Cold is Not the Opposite of Heat, sir, just the Absence of it.
(There was Pin-Drop Silence in the Lecture Theatre )
Student : What about Darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as Darkness?
Professor : Yes. What is Night if there isn’t Darkness?
Student : You’re wrong again, sir.
Darkness is the Absence of Something
You can have Low Light, Normal Light, Bright Light, Flashing Light . . .
But if you have No Light constantly, you have nothing and its called Darkness, isn’t it?
In reality, Darkness isn’t. ;
If it is, were you would be able to make Darkness Darker, wouldn’t you?
Professor : So what is the point you are making, Young Man ?
Student : Sir, my point is your Philosophical Premise is flawed.
Professor : Flawed ? Can you explain how?
Student : Sir, you are working on the Premise of Duality.
You argue there is Life and then there is Death, a Good GOD and a Bad GOD.
You are viewing the Concept of GOD as something finite, something we can measure.
Sir, Science can’t even explain a Thought.
It uses Electricity and Magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one.
To view Death as the Opposite of Life is to be ignorant of the fact that
Death cannot exist as a Substantive Thing.
Death is Not the Opposite of Life: just the Absence of it.
Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your Students that they evolved from a Monkey?
Professor : If you are referring to the Natural Evolutionary Process, yes, of course, I do.
Student : Have you ever observed Evolution with your own eyes, sir?
(The Professor shook his head with a Smile, beginning to realize where the Argument was going )
Student : Since no one has ever observed the Process of Evolution at work and
Cannot even prove that this Process is an On-Going Endeavor,
Are you not teaching your Opinion, sir?
Are you not a Scientist but a Preacher?
(The Class was in Uproar )
Student : Is there anyone in the Class who has ever seen the Professor’s Brain?
(The Class broke out into Laughter )
Student &nbs p; : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor’s Brain, Felt it, touched or Smelt it? . . .
No one appears to have done so.
So, according to the Established Rules of Empirical, Stable, Demonstrable Protocol,
Science says that You have No Brain, sir.
With all due respect, sir, how do we then Trust your Lectures, sir?
(The Room was Silent. The P rofessor stared at the Student, his face unfathomable)
Professor : I guess you’ll have to take them on Faith, son.
Student : That is it sir . . . Exactly !
The Link between Man & GOD is FAITH.
That is all that Keeps Things Alive and Moving.
NB:
That student was Albert Einstein.
‘To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did’ When God takes something from your grasp, He’s not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better. Concentrate on this sentence….. ‘The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.’
Have a nice day.
Shinu
NPR
To capture the essence of what Shinu told in the above post, in just two sentences:
“In Science, You Have Knowledge First and then Faith Follows. In Spirituality, Faith Comes First and then Knowledge Follows”
— Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Art of Living founder
Muthu
Having read Albert Einstein to a reasonable extent, I can say this is a fictional encounter. You can confirm it by Google search. Einstein was NOT an atheist. But his thoughts on God, nature, destiny are very insightful.
He never ever subscribed to the concept of a personal God.
There are lot of good resources available freely in the web world about this.
Suresh
Rated the second most response generating topic on this blog. The first is of course….. Real Estate. Am curious to know the God of Real Estate!
T K VANI
Not sure if you can call him the god of real estate.But people pray to Bhuvaraghava perumal of Shri Mushanam when they have problems / or to get blessings while purchasing real estate.
Deepak Shenoy
So the trade off is – if you don’t believe, you will come across a vengeful angry god after you’re dead; but if you do, you spend a lifetime being afraid that mr. vengeful will get angry about something and beat you up after you’re dead anyway, but you can stop him by saying you were a believer. Or that you had done this pooja, or remembered him 100 times or something of that sort. But then, you’re dead anyway by the time shit happens. On a pure risk reward equation, your life’s a lot better if you don’t believe, no?
Unless of course, you get a lot of pleasure by believing or solace, or peace, or whatever you might call it. That is your God. My god is my son, my god is my family, my god is my music system. But there’s a difference between “pray” and “prey” – religion often forces you to do both.
Nath
Hi Subra,
While this is an interesting “anecdote” supposedly about Einstein, I need to refer you to the link:
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/e/einstein-god.htm
Apparently, the whole stuff is a piece of fiction – but an interesting one, indeed.
Nath
Muthu
Nath – You got it right. We can write fictional stories from mythology not from some one who lived till 1955 and whose life is very well documented.
Einstien and Deepak have one thing in common! Sounds flattering Deepak?
Einstein has put it beautifully what Deepak is saying about Mr.Vengeful.
To quote “I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation and is but a reflection of human fraility.
If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for a reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.”
umesh ikhe
wonderful….!!!!!
Srinivas Muthadi
When we lose something we grieve, when we gain something we are joyous. If we attribute all these to some other being, pain or pleasure are reduced. So, God could be this some other being, to keep us balanced.
God need not get appeased just because we praise Him or be angry if we abuse Him. Those are our traits and limitations.
pravin
“In Science, You Have Knowledge First and then Faith Follows. In Spirituality, Faith Comes First and then Knowledge Follows”
wait. sri sri talking out of his hat here. there is no element of faith in science. the whole idea of science to doubt and question constantly.especially question the established science.
those who cannot do it are not scientists -even if they are working on the cuttingest edges of physics or genetics or whatever.it is their attitude that counts.
Ashwin
Guys…. What is MCP? 😛
subra
Suresh the God of Real Estate in India will have me killed by a truck accident if I write all that I know about him. So I dare not write about him till for about 10 years after his death – he is showing no signs of dying either. In a private discussion with you will tell you more about his antics. Of course our common friend will know more about him..than I do.
MCP is male chauvnistic pig…
faith…and belief’ interchange quote is good..